“He got a nice report and is allowed to proceed,” Steinberg said. “He can do as much as he needs to do. Tiger is going to take this very, very slowly. This is good, but he plans to do it the right way.”

According to Woods’ agent, the golfer isn’t experiencing any pain as he ramps up his practice routine. Stenberg, however, was predictably mum on when the 14-time major champion could return to golf.

“We have not even talked about it,” Steinberg said. “We will see what each day brings, what each week brings.”

As recently as the Presidents Cup three weeks ago, Woods was limited to short wedge shots, so the pace of his progression from that point, and apparent lack of pain, are both excellent signs.

However, as Steinberg said, reading the tea leaves is premature at this point, although assuming Woods would like to be back in action by the Masters is a safe bet.

The 41-year-old hasn’t teed it up since withdrawing prior to the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic in February.

The real issue is whether Tiger will return and be a ceremonial golfer. I just can’t see him playing if he doesn’t think he can be a factor out on tour anymore. It would be nice if he could play without pain (and excuses) for a year or two then he can assess his future on tour. Takes a lot of hard work to maintain a game at that level. I for one hope he can give it a whirl anyway.

The spinal fusion means less rotation, meaning slower swing speed. To keep up with the big boys he’ll want to make that up which’ll put additional stress to the area right above where the fusion occurred, and then he’ll need another fusion. He needs to be more accurate, not longer.

I predict that Tiger will get back in the game but only for a short time until his back goes out again. Ask anybody who’s had that operation.

Geez. This is like the umpteenth return of Freddy Krueger. Enough already! What is professional golf lacking now that having TW playing would fix? Somebody please explain that to me. And exactly how will a diminished TW getting run over like a speeding truck by strong players almost half his age going to be “good for the game of golf?”

Well the basic premise of Tiger being good for the game is that he is the most recognizable figure in the world of golf, he is the player who took the game to popularity levels never seen before.

He also is one of the hardest working athlete in the world. Now whether at 41 with surgeries he would be able to compete with DJ, Thomas, Spieth, Rors, Rahm etc is another thing. Oh and the fusion surgery he had is pretty much the same surgery a chap called Davis Love III had… he was unable to compete after surgery… wait he won the Wyndham at the age of 51…

If you do not like him that’s fine, I have yet to see one commentator/golfer/friend/associate or sentient being say he needing to return to save the game of golf because as you alluded it doesn’t need saved, but he is certainly good for the game and it would be ignorant to think otherwise.

Here is why I think Tiger will play very well when he comes back and gets enough tournaments under his belt. The area where his fusion took place S1 to L5 there is almost zero rotation. So it should have no real effect on his ability to make a golf swing. This surgery should and apparently has left him pain free. We haven’t seen a Tiger Woods without debilitating nerve pain since he went down on his knees during the 2013 Fedex cup playoffs. The last time Tiger was truly healthy was 4 years ago and he was player of the year and #1 in the official world golf rankings. He doesn’t have to win 5+ times a year and regain his #1 ranking for this comeback to be deemed successful. He only has to to be 80% the player he was just 4 years ago. That seems very possible. Good luck Tiger.

Spinal fusion from S1 to L5 means he will have problems mounting and pumping the jam. He will have to take it on his back, otherwise he will jeopardize his spine and golf swing.
Elin’s schadenfreude? LOL

Another perfect human being speaks his mind. Sickening how people on the internet refuse to forgive anyone for their past transgressions. There seems to be no forgiving anymore, only disdain, wretched hate, and constant vilifying until the person is beat down so much they go into hiding. Your comment speaks volumes to the sad state of society these days.

Couldn’t be more to the point!!! Quite disgusting how through decades of supposed progression we still have individuals expressing such dinosaur comments. I’m always amazed would people still have the same views if in a room with these same people they have to troll on the internet.

I’ve said this so many times, we have some young members on here please keep it clean and stick to golf!!!

@golfreality I think you will find loads of exceptionally talented people battle with demons, whether they be athletes, musicians, mathematicians, actors. Just go and write a list of extremely successful people and you will find it littered with drunks, addicts etc you will also find it littered with people who have committed suicide come from broken homes, people with mental illnesses.

People generally want to see them succeed as it shows you problems and challenges are there to be overcome and personal/mental/physical issues should not be a boundary if you have the drive to fight through them

But I will assume you only listen to the clean living singers, only watch tv shows with actors who fit into your perfect world view

If you don’t you are a hypocrite and should probably keep your mouth shut!

…. but is he worthy of respect by young golfers, given his sordid past life? Forgiveness must be earned, not expected by a multi-millionaire trying to squeeze the last million$$$$ out of the golf industry…. Nike too.

Of course he is worthy of respect and if you look at how the younger tour players flock to him you’ll understand he has their respect.

As for forgiveness this is something that can only be given.

Alexander Pope – To err is human; to forgive, divine

Asa Don Brown – A life lived without forgiveness is a life lived in the past

Martin Luther King Jr – We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies

If the internet had been around in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, the ‘bad’ things athletes do these days would mostly pale in comparison. But, people like to harp on these guys because they’re rich and insanely successful. And because a lot of people have a jealous rage that burns inside of them. So much so, they have to focus on other people’s lives rather than bettering their own.

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10 interesting photos from Monday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

GolfWRX is live this week from the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club.

Like all WGC events, the best golfers in the world are in the field, so we’re capturing plenty of interesting shots of the biggest names in the game (and what they’re playing). From Monday’s preparations, we have two general galleries, a handful of WITB galleries, and a look at SuperStroke’s new wares.

Check out a curation of some of the most interesting shots from Monday in Austin.

Monday’s Photos from the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

GolfWRX is live this week from the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event at Austin Country Club (par 71: 7,108 yards), a 1984 Pete Dye design.

The match play field is stacked, including the world No. 1-ranked Dustin Johnson, the reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas, the reigning Masters champion Sergio Garcia, and the two-time match play champion Jason Day. In total, 59 of the top 64 golfers in the world are playing in the event; Brooks Koepka (wrist), Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson will not be in the field.

Last year, D. Johnson won the match play event, which was his third straight victory — that was before the freak accident at the Masters that kept him sidelined, preventing him from going for four straight wins.

Tour Rundown: McIlroy returns to the winner’s circle in fashion

Golf fans everywhere had another week of Tiger Woods to spike the enthusiasm meter, and the resurgent cat did not disappoint. We’ll look into him in greater depth below. Four events were contested across the professional golfing globe, and each result earned our attention. As the major season draws ever closer, let’s run down the triumvirate of tournaments that ran past Pi Day and the Ides of March in 2018.

McIlroy returns to winner’s circle at Arnold Palmer Invitational

With Henrik Stenson, Woods and McIlroy all in the mix on Sunday afternoon, a return to the podium by one of the game’s current greats was nearly assured. McIlroy took charge in the middle of the back nine, with birdies on holes 13-16. That magnificent stretch vaulted the 4-time major champion to 17-under par, 3 shots clear of pursuers Stenson, Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau. At his heels, however, DeChambeau called out “not so fast!” as he closed within a stroke with an eagle at the 16th. McIlroy answered “I can’t hear you,” with another birdie of his own at the 18th, to reach 18-under. When Bryson failed to birdie 17 or 18, the title was McIlroy’s. The young Californian stood alone in 2nd place, 2 behind the champion and 1 clear of Stenson (70 for a 14-under total) and Rose (67.)

It seems like every contender was subjected to the chiding of a certain announcer, all weekend long. In McIlroy’s case, the solo debate centered on his fitness and musculature. No doubt that mid-20s Rors bears little resemblance to the curly-haired, younger version of himself. This assessment is off the mark; what ultimately matters is the putter, and it knows no muscle. McIlroy made putt after putt down the stretch, in addition to his chip-in on the 15th, and that was the difference. 8 birdies, 0 bogeys…that combination is hard to eclipse on a Sunday, in Florida, at the King’s palace.

Tiger Woods inches closer

By the numbers, the 14-time major champion needed to go 11 deep on Sunday to make a run at the title. An opening nine of 34, marred by a bogey at the 9th, made that outcome unlikely. As he stood on the 16th tee, Woods was 5-under on the day, and in the mix. Knowing that he needed eagle, his quest for a long drive ended out of bounds, leading to a bogey 6 on the hole. With his chances gone, Woods bogeyed 17 to finish minus-10 on the week, tied for 5th place with Ryan Moore. Tiger had solid rounds on 3 of 4 days, but his even-par 72 on Friday was too much to overcome. The field did its best to welcome him to the title chase with banal play in round 3, but Woods is still not yet Woods of yore. His Sunday was strong, but it needed to be perfect. His two mistakes (bogeys at 9 and 16) represented miscues that the legendary Tiger would not have allowed. The first bogey, at the 9th hole, was his second of the week there. Woods was 3-under for the day, and could not afford to give back a stroke. On 16, a hole that played like a short par four most of the day, Woods essentially double-bogeyed with his 6. When Woods does win again, both of those mistakes will have been eliminated.

LPGA Founders Cup to Inbee Park

She had the low round of the week on day two, she ran 4 consecutive birdies on Sunday’s back nine to stake her claim, and Inbee Park served notice that she is every bit the 19-event winner. After a slow start (1 birdie and 11 pars) to the final round, Park caught fire and won by 5 strokes over Marina Alex, Laura Davies and Ariya Jutanugarn. Both Alex and Davies had a chance to grab solo second, but each bogeyed the final hole. Park made history in 2016, when she won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Brasil. The Founders Cup was her first tour victory since last spring’s HSBC Women’s Championship. Of the runners-up, Alex stands out by virtue of having never won a professional title. The Vanderbilt alum has been in the mix in 2 of 3 events this season. Two weeks ago, she finished with 77 to drop out of contention. This week’s effort certainly advanced her confidence to close the deal one day soon. As for the only holder of knighthood in the field, the ageless Dame Laura Davies continues to demonstrate that natural gifts will always have their place in professional sport. Until this week, her last top-five finish came in 2014. Does she have one last victory in her? Here’s hoping!

Unheralded Polland claims first PGA Tour Latinoamerica title

Ben Polland completed his schooling in 2013 at North Carolina’s Campbell University, then set out to make a name on the professional tours of the world. He ranked 189th on the 2017 Web money list, compelling him to return to Q-School at season’s end, then beginning 2018 on the PGA Tour’s Latin America circuit. Polland’s only professional victory of note was the 2015 Bermuda Open, and his dossier lists his current affiliation as an assistant professional at Long Island’s Deepdale Club. Given all that, why shouldn’t he shoot consecutive rounds of 65, on his way to victory in the Guatemala Open?

Polland began the final round with a 3-stroke advantage over Bryan Martin, but the challenger sank fast with 73, ending in a tie for 7th. Tyler McCumber was 4 behind at dawn’s first light, but he also had his struggles on the day, dropping a slot to a 4th-place tie. Matt Gilchrest improved 11 strokes from day 1 (74) to day 2 (63) and might have won the event had Thursday been kinder. He closed with weekend rounds of 67-68 to finish tied for 2nd, 4 behind Polland. Tied with Gilchrest was Skyler Finnell, who play solid, upper-60s golf all week long. Had the putter warmed up enough to drop him to the mid or lower 60s on any given day, Finnell would have also given Polland some discomfort.

Jeffrey Kang follows Q-School win with tournament title on PGA Tour China Series

Jeffrey Kang, a Californian of Korean descent, didn’t like his chances after opening with 75 at the Chengdu Championship. After subsequent rounds of 63-66-64, Kang sat atop the field, champion of the season-opening event of the 2018 schedule. Kang’s final round, the low of the day, separated him from the field by 5 strokes. third-round leader Shunyat Hak stumbled out of the gate on day 4, making bogey on the par-5 first hole. The remained of the day was birdie-bogey trade-off, resulting in a 73 for -14, and a tie for 5th. The biggest threat to Kang was William Harold, who signed for a 5-under 31 on the outward half. Harold hit a wall, however, stringing 9 consecutive pars to end his day. Against Kang’s inward 9 of -4 32, 36 was simply not good enough.